Stone recaps an unforgettable trip to China, how it helped him improve

Finding yourself on the field in the heat is a staple of the offseason for most football players. It's not often, though, that you find yourself tossing passes in China. But that's where three-star Woodberry Forest quarterback and UVa commit Lindell Stone found himself Sunday night.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound signal caller has spent most of his summer thus far working out and competing with the U.S. National Football Team. After two weeks of training camp at Kean University in New Jersey last month, the team spent the past two weeks playing in the 2016 IFAF Under-19 World Championship in Hardin, China.

When CavsCorner caught up with the future Wahoo on Sunday morning locally, he and the his team had just lost a heartbreaker to Canada in the title game that night. While he was dealing with understandable disappointment, he was also thinking back on a great experience representing his country on foreign soil.

"It's a really exciting program," he said of USA Football. "We just finished up the International Bowl Tournament and playing teams from Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, Australia, and Austria. This experience has been amazing.

"Coming overseas to China was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure," Stone added, "and certainly something I'll never forget. The football was great but it's not very often where you get to go overseas and be immersed in a different culture. It also helps you appreciate just how much you have back at home and how different it is. It's been a really exciting trip but I'm also ready to get home."

In the four games he played for the U.S., Stone passed for 1,185 yards and completed 95 of 161 passes while piling up 12 TDs.

"I felt like I did pretty well," he said. "We ended up 3-1 and lost to Canada in the championship game, which was unfortunate. It was certainly a big learning experience for me, facing those guys who are a college-level team. But we actually threw it 65 times in the game tonight, which is crazy. I'd never thrown that much before in my life. I think we only ran it 10 times. But being able to adapt to that was really cool."

Despite not having won out, Stone says the event helped him elevate his game in a profound way facing teams that featured manny older players.

"This experience was just amazing and being able to play well certainly helped," he said. "I mean, I made a bunch of mistakes but I'll be able to learn from them because of the level of competition we faced...When you play against bigger, faster, stronger teams, it really helps your confidence. Losing tonight, as much as I didn't like it, it kind of adds to the learning experience.

"Any time you can play football, it's hard to turn it down," he added. "You can't beat that live game experience."

Back here at home, things couldn't be going better for the Virginia commit. While he was away, two of his best friends and teammates at Woodberry, three-star prospects Terrell Jana and John Kirven, chose to commit to Bronco Mendenall and the Cavaliers.

"Having those two guys commit to UVa is just extremely exciting," he said. "I've known Terrell since even before he got to Woodberry and having him there was awesome. And I'm actually rooming with John next year. It's just exciting times knowing I'll be able to play with both of those guys at the next level.

"I was pushing them as hard as I could," Stone added. "At the end of the day, it's their decision obviously but I think they knew UVa was the right fit. They have a very similar approach to things as I do and we have the same outlook on college. They see what I see both in terms of the academic value as well as what's happening with the 'HoosRising' slogan that we're using. Hopefully, I helped a little bit. I'm sure I did. But it was really Coach Mendenhall and the staff doing a great job of recruiting."

The way Kirven's recruitment played out was interesting in that last fall he was the one pushing for Stone to join him. Then, Kirven opened things up, it was Stone hoping he'd be committing to the Hoos again.

"I'm so happy for him," Stone said of Kirven. "He's such a good guy and we've worked so hard together. Since his first year playing football sophomore year, he was really raw in terms of football ability but his athleticism is absolutely ridiculous. He's pretty young too for our grade.

"I think the UVa staff saw something in him that all of us at Woodberry have seen," Stone added. "He has so much potential when you combine his intangibles. He had a crazy recruitment and I'm glad it ended up with him being at his dream school and us being teammates again."

What has stood out to all three of the Woodberry commits, Stone explained, is what the new coaching staff brings to the table when combined with the University itself.

"Just their honesty about how they saw us and our skillsets, even then, really stood out," he recalled. "They were just so honest and I really appreciated that. That's how I really got to know them and how I built up that trust in them. I know they're going to shoot straight with you no matter what happens."

While he might not throw it 65 times down the road when he's in orange and blue, there's no doubt that offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck have brought a more wide-open approach to Charlottesville. And that's exactly what Stone says he signed up for.

"I love it," he said of UVa's offense. "It's more advanced. There are more formations and routes than I would see at this level obviously but it's very similar to the systems that I've grown up in. Growing up in Texas, you're exposed to the Mike Leach spread offense that Coach Anae was a part of, it's really cool because now I'll be in a very similar offense in college. There are a lot of multiple looks and I actually went through and watched a lot of film with Coach Beck.

"Just seeing what they do and the magic behind it was really cool," he added. "I feel like I'll fit in really well. I'm a very cerebral quarterback and I'm able to get plays down and look at the defense to be able to tell what I need to do fairly quickly but obviously I have a lot to learn just like any other guy. I chose UVa for the school itself but along with that, the offense I'll be in really is a cherry on top. I'm very excited about it."

As he continues to help Mendenhall and Co. recruit more members of the 2017 class, one thing that Stone says he talks to other recruits about is what they get from the staff.

"Obviously, the UVa coaches are very up front and honest with you," he said. "At other schools, unfortunately that's not always the way it is. You think they're being honest but they're really not and it can be hard for some guys to really trust that. But all of the commits, we've had very honest interactions with Coach Mendenhall and the staff so we're in a spot where we can tell other guys how it was for us. Being able to share that experience with other recruits gives a lot of value."

"I'll be doing my best electronically and through Twitter," he said with a laugh. "I'll be at work, typing away and messaging guys to help us keep building. I can't wait to get home and get it going."